Damp Conditions for VIR Twin 250s Practice

ALTON, Va. (August 30, 2002) -- Overcast skies produced occasional light rain throughout the day at Virginia International Raceway during practice sessions for Saturday's Twin 250s. While the morning practice sessions were run under wet track conditions, the afternoon gave way to a dryer track and quicker speeds.

The home-track advantage showed during practice for the Grand Sport 250. VIR-based G&W Motorsports saw its #81 Porsche GT3 Cup clock the quickest GS I lap of the day. Cort Wagner was behind the wheel of the Porsche when it recorded a 2:02.055 lap at 96.448 mph.

"We've actually been chasing setup all day yesterday and today on the G&W Porsche, but I think we've finally got it," said Wagner, who will partner with Brent Martini during the race. "You know the more laps you put in around a course like this the better. It is a long, difficult course and the more time you put on it the better it gets."

Terry Borcheller led the GS II class with his 2:07.129 lap at 92.599 mph in the #54 BMW M3 of Bell Motorsports. "I've got to give the credit to Jim Bell for building such a good car. We're actually down a little bit on horsepower to the other cars, but when it's wet like this, you can make up for that," said Borcheller. "Forest (Barber) will qualify the car tomorrow and we expect to do well in the race."

After missing the last Grand-Am Cup race at Mid-Ohio two weeks ago, Shane Lewis' return to Grand-Am Cup was not a pleasant one. Lewis lost control of the Planet Earth Motorsports #43 Corvette, sending it into the tire barriers during practice. The damage to the GS I car was too severe for the team to repair this weekend. Lewis' co-driver, Joe Nonnamaker, will take his son Wayne's position in the #42 Acura Integra LS of the ST II class.

Bob Endicott and Will Nonnamaker led their respective classes during practice for the Sport Touring 250. Endicott, partnering with Mike VanSicklen this weekend, clocked a 2:12.513 lap at 88.837 mph in the King Motorsports #64 Acura Integra R to lead the ST I class. Nonnamaker, who will team with his younger brother Wayne in the #43 Acura Integra LS, was tops in the ST II class with his 2:21.255 lap at 83.339 mph.

"We haven't run the full course in a year. We really love this track; we've always been quick here, because I just think its so fun. The more you enjoy a track, the faster you want to go," said the elder of the Nonnamaker brothers. "With this kind of rain it doesn't do anything more than just keep the track cool for driving."

Qualifying for the Grand-Am Cup Twin 250s will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The green flag will fall on the Sport Touring 250 at 1:45 p.m., immediately followed by the Grand Sport 250, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. VIR will host a Labor Day weekend fireworks display on Saturday evening following the races.

Tickets are available at the gate. For additional information on ticket availability and prices visit www.virclub.com or call 888-RACE-099. Additional information about the Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series is available online at www.grandamcup.com.

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EDITORS NOTE: Result agate and photos from qualifying and the races will be available this weekend on the Grand American media-specific website at www.grand-am.com/media.
For more information contact Grand American Road Racing Association
Christie Hyde (386) 795-1189 cell; email: CHyde@grand-am.com